In Winter's Grasp

The Mysterious Stranger...Or Just Good Speaker Phone

Chapter Three 

The Mysterious Stranger...or Just Good Speaker Phone 

We headed back to our lockers and grabbed our stuff, just then my phone buzzed and I saw an unknown number. I flipped up my screen and opened the message.  

Its brady where u goin? 

I shut my screen because I didn't feel like telling him all of this through text. Shit! I'm still moving! I totally forgot about that! I still have to tell my teachers to! Fuck! This blows big time. 

"You have some major explaining to do, hun," I heard Sorcha say. I looked over my shoulder to see her perched chin up, eyes downward towards my screen. 

Now, how do I explain this fiasco to her? That is the prevailing question. "Hmm, well, you see, it all started with a kiss . . .," Her mouth was agape at that one. "Nah, it was more like all the sudden he started talking to me. And he didn't even really talk to me. He passed notes to me." 

Her mouth was an "o" of shock, and the emotion was written in every crevice of her face. 

"Uh, honey. That is not nothing. That is one giant ball of huge. Tell me everything right now, or die. And I mean it." Her face said she meant it, but her eyes were glittering with humor. 

"I'll tell you later, now lets go before someone catches us." We finished grabbed our stuff, and fled the building. 

Once we were clear of the building we slowed down from the run. I was panting a little, but Sorcha wasn't in the slightest. She was on the track team, so that made sense to me. I wasn't much of a sports person, so I stayed at home in the summer and ate potato chips, while she was running her butt off. And every September I had to work off the fat I gained in the summer. It was a vicious cycle, but I wasn't about to change it.  

I was a few pounds over "just right" but I liked it that way. At least I had curves. A lot of girls today don't have the sense to eat. They want to be stick skinny, and that's just wrong. Women weren't meant to be rail skinny. We were meant to be curvy and voluptuous. But I was getting off topic. 

"Okay, so this is right after our sub, Mr. Gournashelly, mispronounced my name." She grimaced at that. And I patted her back to let her know I was over it. "He started blathering about the central limit theorem or something. I'm bending over to take notes, and I see a note on my desk. That's when I notice that he's sitting right in front of me." I was nearly squeaking in excitement now. Although I'm not sure why. "I open the note, and Brady was apologizing for him, him being the idiot sub, not Brady, and I replied. Then I remembered in all those chick flicks, you know, the ones with popular guys getting together with the losers? Yeah that's what I thought he was doing. So I passed a reply to him. He wrote back, and flexed then dropped the note onto my desk. He has killer biceps, by the way. And he wanted my phone number! I was practically swooning with joy the entire class, and when I left, he winked at me!" 

Sorcha looked about ready to pop. That or her face was going to split form that huge smile on her face. She leaped over and hugged me. "Oh my god! And when exactly were you planning on telling me all of this?" 

"It's not like I was the one who totally derailed this morning. Speaking of which, where were you?" 

I could see her floundering around for an answer. "Hun," I said, "if you can't tell me that's okay. I mean I'll be crushed for forever, but that's okay." 

She smiled at my joke and leaned over to hug me again. "You know I love you, right?" 

"Oh, you know I do." 

"So, where were we going again?" 

She was starting to look panicked again. 

"Dude, I can't let this one slide. If we're gonna go somewhere, I need to know where." She continued to look panicked. I spun her around to face me. 

"Sorcha. Either you tell me where we're going or we go somewhere else." She nodded in a vague fashion. 

"Dude. I have to call someone. Like, now. Because I now know the error of my ways. I cannot bring you, and I can't just ditch you, so I have to go call someone." 

I sighed. "Fine! Just go do it then come back so we can go and get ice cream at Ernie's." She smiled and wandered over to where I couldn't see her. I followed her, because I wanted to know why. Why she was acting like this. Why she had to make secret phone calls. And why she ditched school this morning and was going to again after she talked to me. 

"...told you, I couldn't just leave her lying around! She's moving dammit! I want to spend time with her!" 

"That doesn't give you reason to disobey me. Send her away. Now." That voice was rang with authority, and had a deep masculine timbre. It dripped with condescension. Either that girl had a great speaker phone, or someone was actually with her. 

"I-I can't. She told me to stay with her." 

"Fine. Don't disobey me again, or you will be dragged back to your home. 

"Yes sir." I could hear crunching and knew that she was coming back. I jumped lithely back to where I was standing. What was all that about? 

"Everything go well?" I asked. 

"Just fine. Now to Ernie's!" She chanted, raising her fist to the air. I giggled and followed her lead.  

It took a little while, but eventually we made it to Ernie's. We walked in and a blast of cold air swept my hair out of my eyes. I grinned. I loved Ernie's, because they had the best ice cream in three counties. It was so creamy and smooth. We walked over to the display freezer and contemplated our choices. I finally chose on oreo cookie with some gummi bears. Sorcha got orange sherbet and sprinkles. We sat down together. 

Just then a guy walked in. And I have to say, he was hotter than Brady. And that's hard to do. That boy was flamingly hot. He sat down at a table right behind ours. I looked over at Sorcha and waggled my brows. Then I saw the pinched look on her face. She was looking at the wall, her eyes flickering to him and back. 

"Um, hello! Earth to Sorcha! You there honey?" 

She glanced at me, the sour expression gone. "Yeah! Right here." 

I gave her a look. 

"Okay, I really wasn't supposed to ditch my date with the person, but I did, and I need to go so that I can get back together with them." 

I sighed. "You do know that you could have just told me no earlier, and we could have avoided this whole mess right?" 

"Well, yeah, but your moving, and I wanted to spend time with you." 

"Honey. We can do that any other time. Go do what you need to do and I'll go do something else. Like finish my ice cream. Meet me back here as soon as you can." I smiled at her. She continued to frown, and I got up and hugged her. "Go. Save the world from mass chaos. I'll sit here and eat ice cream till you get back." This time she smiled and I sat back down. 

After she left I sat back down and continued to eat my ice cream. I heard the scraping of chair against linoleum, and heard the super hot guy get up. 

"This seat taken?" I looked up to see him smile charmingly at me. 

I shook my head, and he sat down. "Sorry," I said, "but I don't think I know you." 

"You don't, but I figured why not." He smiled again and I shifted uncomfortably in my chair. I wasn't quite used to super hot guys hitting on me. I looked down at my ice cream as if to hide. All the sudden he leaned in really close. 

"Can I ask you one question?" he asked. 

"You just did." I smiled weakly at my joke. 

"Fine then can I ask three?" 

"Sure." 

He leaned in even closer to me. His breath tickled my ear. "Do you believe in faeries?